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http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationmojoPortal Blog Moduleen-US120noKemp honored with big slice of St. Louis history

No stranger to presenting deliciously engineered works, Kemp Auto Museum was honored to receive one of the most anticipated St. Louis deserts since Ted Drewes. An ornamental “Cakeway to West” cake sculpture, installed at the museum on February 26, 2014.

“It has already been drawing some serious visitor attention,” said Museum Director Lisa Roberts. “Interest, we believe, will only climb as more cakes crop up.”

The “Cakeway to the West” exhibit, which has been developing secretly since January, is a region wide spectacle of cakes celebrating the city’s 250th birthday. STL250 is the organization leading the exhibit. They kicked off the display with a public vote, collectively spreading the birthday cheer with Kemp and 249 other noted St. Louis landmarks.

“Together, we and other chosen locations will give residents a taste of St. Louis never before enjoyed,” said Roberts. “Every cake at every location will be an opportunity to learn more about our great city and the many pieces that make it so enriching.”

Both a showcase and a scavenger hunt, the cake exhibit will offer fun for residents and visitors year round.

Soon STL250 will launch an interactive social media application allowing cake chasers to track their adventures. One part mobile almanac, two parts digital compass, the app will give users thrilling insights about the locations they’re visiting, including hidden facts and head twisters only available on the app. In addition, users can share their progress through “check ins" and receive points toward sweepstakes prizes in June and December.

“The cake won’t be hard to miss, “said Mike Dyer, Assistant Curator at Kemp Auto Museum. “Standing at four feet tall and weighing more than a ton it reflects the museum perfectly and we’re very proud to have it.”

And while most cakes are located in downtown St. Louis, in such places as the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Gateway Arch, residents willing to venture further west might want to read the list below. Starting at the museum, there are at least 10 nearby locations cake chasers can plan to visit and productively rake in the points. Neighboring Kemp Auto Museum from closest to farthest, these locations include:

Nearby Cake Locations

Butterfly House at Faust - 3.3 mi

Old Bonhomme Church – 3.7 mi

Spirit of St. Louis Airport - 3.9 mi

Babler State Park – 7.6 mi

Manchester City Hall – 8.3 mi

AKC Museum of the Dog - 8.6 miles mi

The Lodge at Des Peres – 11.1 mi

Barretts Elementary School - 11.1 mi

Rockwoods Reservation – 13.8 mi

Castlewood Park – 14.4 mi

World Bird Sanctuary - 14.9 mi

These spots are just the beginning in West County with more being announced each day on the Cakeway to the West website. For more information about the museum’s cake site contact (636)537-1718 or visit http://www.stl250.org/cake.aspx for additional location and launch dates. Cakes will be on display year round, with candles blowing out December 31, 2014.

]]>http://www.kempautomuseum.org/kemp-honored-with-big-slice-of-st-louis-history.aspx
jada@kempautomuseum.org (Jada Jamison)http://www.kempautomuseum.org/kemp-honored-with-big-slice-of-st-louis-history.aspxhttp://www.kempautomuseum.org/kemp-honored-with-big-slice-of-st-louis-history.aspxFri, 07 Mar 2014 20:03:00 GMT70 Years of Jaguar” now on exhibit at Kemp Auto Museum through October

St. Louis, Missouri – On September 4, 2013, some of the world’s fanciest felines will display at the Kemp Auto Museum for “70 years of Jaguar.” This one-month exhibit, which coincides with the annual Jaguar Concours event on October 5th, 2013, will focus on the progression of Jaguar from sidecar to sensation.

“When discussing the marque emphasis is usually placed on Jaguar’s e-type rather than Jaguar’s evolution,” said Mike Dyer, assistant Curator at Kemp Auto Museum. “This exhibit will give visitors the opportunity to meet Jaguar pre-claw: when the marquee was still finding its trademark and its true form.”

One of those forms, says Dyer, was as a diminutive sidecar known as the 1930 Austin Swallow. The rare car is one of two in the United States and was brought to the museum from a private collection.

“While lacking in similarity to any future Jaguar production the car speaks volumes about the veracity of Sir William Lyons: the company’s founder,” said Dyer. “Despite his limited funding and working the first part of his career in a backyard shed, he was an ace for styling and had the vision and the drive to imagine bigger even when those he called partner would not.”

The Swallow sidecar was just Lyons winding up—a precursor to the S.S. Jaguar that is also on display at the museum. The car, while derided for being all bonnet and no performance, marked a strong progression in Jaguar’s design history. Sprinkled here and there with chrome and flashing with features such as suicide doors, a low roofline and burled wood, these models were outpacing brands nearly twice their age, giving British buyers, for the first time, both looks and value.

Great performing models were not far behind the S.S. Jaguar. One innovation after the next made Jaguar into an icon from the XK to the F-type, disc brakes to independent rear suspension, Daytona to Le Mans. Through a display of all these marvels as well the lesser known Jaguars, visitors will get to fully understand what got them started and, more importantly, what set them apart.

When the exhibit concludes, the museum will celebrate with a finale event: the Jaguar Concours d’Elegance on October 5, 2013. Some 60 legends of the Leaper will come together for the show, many from St. Louis and others from states nearby. These cars have amassed great awards in national Concours shows and at vintage competitive racing events.

The Jaguar Association (St. Louis) is co-organizing the event along with support from Plaza Jaguar of St. Louis and the museum.

“These cars represent many hours of diligent work and expenditure by our members,” said Terry Carmack, assistant to the Jaguar Club of St. Louis. “Every era of Jaguar is showcased at the event, from the earliest to the latest, all in the same condition as whenthey rolled off the assembly line in Browns Lane. These exquisite cars and many other Jaguars traveling from other regions will vie for awards at this highly competitive event. Jaguar cars are renowned for their beauty and these cars are the best of the best in performance and appearance.”

In addition to vintage Jaguars, the show will sport many emerging and current models, most notably the recently released Jaguar F-type. Considered the belle of the breed, the F-type is just one of several current models visitors can expect to see at the one-day showcase Saturday. The Jaguar Concours is free and open to the public and runs from 10:00am to 3:30pm. Access to the museum at a discounted rate of $6 per person will also be available along with food and refreshments during the Concours show.

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About the Kemp Auto Museum and the Kemp Foundation:

The intent of the Kemp Auto Museum is to demonstrate the evolution of rare and classic automobiles and its impact on the world’s political, cultural and historical development. Fulfilling the mission of the Fred M. Kemp Foundation, the museum is dedicated to the preservation and public display of the rare and classic European automobiles previously donated by Fred M. Kemp. Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Admission is free for members and children under three.

St. Louis, Missouri – The Selection Committee at Kemp Auto Museum has announced that the Concours d'Elegance, the largest invitation-only automotive event for classic and finely designed automobiles in St. Louis, will become a full weekend event for 2013.

"Since 2008, we have observed the growing prestige, size and significance of the museum concours," said Event Chairman Rodger Van Ness. "Participation and attendance has spiraled with each and every event. We continue to showcase rarer and more substantial collections and to attract bigger and more enthusiastic crowds to the museum grounds and therefore there was a need to extend the showcase," he added.

Day one of the Concours festivities will comprise of the Grand Classic event, where over 60 classic, artfully conceived automobiles from around the country will display competitively from 10:00 to 2:00pm. Show criteria for participants will be as determined by the judging procedures of the Classic Car Club of America. Only automobiles of pristine quality and authenticity will display. This includes limited production vehicles manufactured in America and Europe between 1919 to 1948 of which represent the pinnacle of engineering, styling and design for their era.

Day two of the event will be presided over by the selection committee at Kemp Auto museum. An additional 65 vehicles will roll onto the show field, along with a few dozen cars from the previous day. These will include significant Duesenberg, Packard, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar examples, along with new and exotic vehicles. Emphasis is placed on automobiles produced in significantly limited numbers, many of which have won prestigious regional and national concours awards at Pebble Beach in California and Amelia Island in Florida.

These weekend events are free and open to the public and benefit Ranken Jordan Pediatric Hospital.

The Kemp Auto Museum is honored to unite with the fine Classic Car Club of America for the Concours d'Elegance and Grand Classic events, said Rodger Van Ness. "We recognize the prestige of their 'Grand Classic' showcase, normally held on the West and East Coasts, and it is a privilege to introduce this monumental affair to Midwest audiences."

Entry applications for car exhibitors are due Friday, March 29, 2013, so if you have a car you hope to show please act quickly. To request an application, send an inquiry offering basic information about your vehicle to rodger@kempautomuseum.org. Forms for the Grand Classic Event can be found here.

St. Louis, Missouri – More than 1,800 students attended the 8th grade Career Fair for Rockwood School District last week at Kemp Auto Museum in Chesterfield. The museum, which donated meeting spaces to the event, prepared career stations encompassing the entire facility from February 27 to March 1, 2013.

The volunteering companies and organizations, which numbered in the three hundreds, were sectioned at long tables, shrined with the tools of their trade: bullet proof police vests, design swatches, video cameras, mannequin heads, medical equipment for patient monitoring, and large plastic moldings that simulated fat.

Kim Litzau, supervisor of Rockwood Partners in Education, organized the program. She said the career fair developed from a shift in curriculum that yearly challenges students to chronicle their career aspirations.

“Our mission is to provide an opportunity for students to explore a variety of careers before they begin their high school experience,” Litzau said.

“We hope students will walk away from the event with some ideas of careers that they might wish to pursue.”

She also hopes students will develop a framework for the high school courses they will need to meet their college and career goals. Litzau and her team recruited professionals of every stripe for the three-day event. These included representatives from every branch of the U.S. military, dieticians, law enforcement agencies, cosmetologists, medical surgeons, law practitioners, corporations such as Edwards Jones and Laclede Gas, architectural firms and many more.

John Finley, a photojournalist with KSDK Channel 5, was on hand Wednesday and Thursday to answer questions. His goal when advising students was to plant a thought they might remember years later.

“Everything from medicine, education, law, even how to do plumbing and carpentry is explored in some form of media,” Finley said.

Some students spoke with veterinarians at the fair, and he told them that was a great choice and that it could easily lead into a journalism career.

“Debbye Turner, the first Show Me St. Louis host, was Miss America, a broadcast journalist and a veterinarian,” Finley said. “It's all a matter of combining your passions with your dreams and realizing there are many paths to a satisfying career.”

St. Louis, Missouri – Herbie “the Love Bug” was recently installed into the Kemp Auto Museum where he’ll spend his days delighting visitors young and old through the month of February. The beloved Disney character is the centerpiece of the museum’s holiday display, which will explore the production of Herbie, his character in the films, as well as the mechanical innovations and special effects that made him possible.

Presented in “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo” form, the third film in the franchise (1977), visitors will see a stunning recreation of the car’s high-back seats, and movie correct Carello driving light.

“This particular reproduction is the most rally-esque appearing in the series,” said Assistant Curator Mike Dyer. “Herbie is at his best as a vintage rally car, aggressively attired with custom wide wheels and the Italian manufactured fog lights seen on racing vehicles such as Lamborghini, Maserati, and Fiat.”

To complement the exhibition of Herbie, the museum will also present free guided tours, interpreting the development of Herbie, on and off screen.

Segmented by theme, visitors will listen along as guides discuss the introduction of Herbie during a poignant period in America history, sparing no details on the war and the counterbalancing influence of Herbie as a hopeful and inspiring film figure. Several vehicles, which share close engineering and aesthetic ties with Herbie will also be featured in the tour. These automobiles will include the 1931 370 S Mannheim Mercedes, 1930 SSK Mercedes and 1960 Porsche 356

For more information on guided tours and reservations contact (636)537-1718 or visit the museum website at www.kempautomuseum.org. General admission to the museum is $8 for Adults, $6 for Seniors and $3for Juniors. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00pm.

St. Louis, Missouri – Of all the peculiar and novel goods sold in early department stores, perhaps the most peculiar was the Crosley car. Retailed at Macy’s between 1939 and 1952, Crosley cars will be the focus of an upcoming exhibition at the Kemp Auto Museum, entitled “From Aisles to Avenues.” This exhibition opens to the general public October 3, 2012, after a special preview at Macy’s in Chesterfield, MO.

Six models will showcase at the museum, with the earliest being the 1939 Crosley convertible. The pint-sized car weighed a meager 900 pounds, at a time when most cars weighed 3,000 pounds. and retailed for $350. A 1947 Crosley Sedan will exhibit at Macy's for the first time in 60 years. This historic presentation is an opportunity for visitors to reminisce about the experience of 20th century shoppers. They can also identify the changing styles and amenities of cars sold during this period.

“From Aisles to Avenues" is presented in collaboration with Macy’s, which will present a special preview of the exhibition from Sept. 26 to Oct.1, 2012 under the title “Crosley at Macy’s.” at their Chesterfield store. The Crosley cars at the Museum are featured against a series of Macy’s-sold appliances by Powel Crosley, including wooden and phenolic cased radios from 1940, rotary phones and aged phonographs.

Macy’s took up the sale of automobiles at the consideration of its long-time supplier: Powel Crosley (1886-1961). Crosley is most well-known as an appliance guru and inventor based in Cincinnati. He dedicated most of his life and talent toward inventing goods people needed at prices they could afford. These included America’s first mass-produced radio, a refrigerator with shelves, a fax machine and, later, America’s first postwar compact car.

RELATED PROGRAMS:
Drawn largely from private collections, “From Aisles to Avenues” will run until November 4, 2012. Kemp Auto Museum will conduct gallery talks on the exhibition on Thursday, Oct.11, at 10am and Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 11am. In addition Macy’s will hold a press preview on Sept. 26, 2012 at its Chesterfield Mall location and a Crosley themed public event on Saturday, September 29 from 1-3pm. The exhibition is made possible by the Kemp Auto Museum and Macy's. Additional support provided by MotoeXotica Classic Cars.

About Macy’s
Macy's, the largest retail brand of Macy's, Inc., delivers fashion and affordable luxury to customers at more than 800 locations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Macy's stores and macys.com offer distinctive assortments including the most desired family of exclusive and fashion brands for him, her and home. Macy's is known for such epic events as Macy's 4th of July Fireworks® and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade®, as well as spectacular fashion shows, culinary events, flower shows and celebrity appearances. Building on a 150-year tradition, Macy's helps strengthen communities by supporting local and national charities that make a difference in the lives of our customers.

About the Kemp Auto Museum
The intent of the Kemp Auto Museum is to demonstrate the evolution of rare and classic automobiles and its social and historical impact on the developing world. Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.